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Every man, woman, and child needs to eat. Hunger is a serious problem but there are organizations like food banks to help combat hunger. A food bank is a non-profit charity organization that receives donated food and then redistributes the food to other groups who feed the hungry. These groups can run homeless shelters, soup kitchens and orphanages. Food banks need food all year long, but the need is often the greatest during the holidays. If you are looking for ways to help improve your local community, volunteering or getting people to donate to a food bank is a good place to start. The following are terms you will see when dealing with a food bank.

Pantry – Here this term refers to a particular group who receives food from a food bank to distribute.

Relief Network – Name given to the operation of food banks donating food to different pantry groups who work together to make sure they give the best aid possible to people within their area.

Soup Kitchen – A place where food is either given to the hungry and homeless for free or for a very low price. Despite the name, which originated during the Great Depression when they mostly did serve soup, most soup kitchens offer a lot more than soup now.

Homeless Shelter – A place where the homeless can come to sleep and take a shower. Homeless shelters often operate on donations or outreach charity programs.

Food Stamps – An alternative government program that assists low income families by giving them money for food. Despite the name, they are no longer given stamps, but typically cards with a set amount of money once a month.

Outreach Program – A program provided by local businesses and churches to give aid to the local community through charity.

If you're interested in volunteering for a charity organization, you may want to consider donating your time to a food bank. Food banks provide needy community members the food they need to stay healthy and happy.
If you live in a medium to large sized city, there is undoubtedly a food bank near you. These food banks collect and donate food to other, smaller non-profit organizations. They may donate to a food pantry or a homeless shelter, for instance. They may also donate to a soup kitchen or community outreach center.
These relief networks organize and distribute quite a lot of food each day, and they depend on the aid of volunteers to do this effectively. Most food banks are always looking for generous adults and older children to help them run smoothly and efficiently. And they always need extra help during the holiday season. They hold many fundraisers and events around that time of the year.
These hunger fighting organizations also occasionally provide food stamps to the needy. These stamps can be used to buy a wide variety of food and other perishable goods at participating grocery and convenience stores.
Food banks may work closely with a particular homeless shelter. They also work closely with a particular food pantry or soup kitchen. And anyone interested in volunteering his or her time at one of these non-profit organizations should be pleased to know that the food they work with at one of these banks will be sent almost immediately to other, smaller non-profit organizations.